This past Sunday, Keith and I were on our way home from Target. We are driving on the Southern State Parkway, and as I was staring out the window at the side of the road, I see a baby kitten all alone… just sitting there all on her/his lonesome. I told Keith that there was a baby kitty, and I KNEW I couldn’t just leave it there. I put my hand on the belt buckle, almost out of instinct, to get out of the car. Keith says to me in such a shocked way “What? You’re getting out of the car?”, and I just thought “yesss…?” and gave him this look. We luckily had enough room to pull over onto the side of the parkway. I looked in the backseat to see if there was anything I could grab to carry the little kitten with. I forgot we had bought new towels and I was SO happy that we did! I grabbed mine and slow jogged down the side of the parkway… Keith said that my foot touched the line a bit too many times BUT I didn’t know exactly how far down the kitty was so I wanted to be sure it didn’t run out into traffic!

Eventually after changing between slow jogging and fast, cautious walking, the kitty was in sight! I held the towel on the side of the parkway so that she didn’t run off toward the road. She really didn’t even make an attempt to run until I was going to put the towel around her. I picked her up with my hand, and she let out this scared, little yell and squirmed a little. I can’t say I blame her, she had no idea what was going on! I tried to talk to her calmly, while carrying her in the towel on the way back to the car. I did think to myself, “What if she has a family? What if I just took her away from them?” But you could tell she didn’t look too well. I kept referring to HER as a she because she looked like one so that’s what I stuck with.

We brought her back to Keith’s to get some water. Keith went in and I stayed out in the car with her because we didn’t want her to be anywhere near his dogs. We didn’t need them to get sick for any reason. After being there for a little while, and Keith reaching out to some people to see if they were interested in taking in a furry, little friend, we headed to my house to have my mom say “hi!” Plus, my mom has cat food, and a dropper so that it would be easier to feed baby Baldwin. Keith came up with the perfect name, Baldwin, since that was the exit we found her! Not too fitting for a girl (if she was a girl) but we loved it!

I was being a hog by tending to Baldwin while Keith made all these different phone calls to different shelters and my mom looked up different things to determine what the kitten should eat and how old she might be. My mom concluded that she must’ve been between 4-6 weeks old. With her being so young, she couldn’t eat anything too big and nothing that she could really chew. She didn’t seem much into the idea of eating, this could’ve been because she was young, sick, or just didn’t want food but we tried what we could! What I didn’t consider with all of this was the fact that Keith is SO allergic to cats, I just saw a kitten in need, and I jumped. Although he may be allergic, he still wanted to give the kitten some attention! She looked so cute all wrapped up in the towel, in his arms. 🙂 We were probably at my house for about two hours trying to figure out what to do with her. We almost kept her overnight, and I was going to take off work to bring her somewhere the next morning.

Luckily, Keith came across an animal shelter in Long Beach. It took so much time to figure out a place that would take her in since it was a Sunday and already “late” by Sunday standards. I could tell my mom was on the fence about taking her in but with four cats my mom didn’t want to risk getting them sick. Also, each of the cats that we own all (technically) came from being abandoned and we took them in. Our most recent kitty had a broken leg when we got him… I don’t think my mom wanted to go through the stress of nursing another kitten back to health, while also making sure the other kitties are taken care of. I was just relieved that we (Keith) found a place, that not only took her, but seemed to care for her!

I honestly didn’t expect this to consume our entire night. We were basically with the kitty for four to five hours, and I have to say I didn’t regret any of it… she was the sweetest thing, and I really believe she was warming up to me. I will definitely be calling the shelter a few times to check up on that little mush. I felt bad for Keith… although he is a major animal lover himself, he DID NOT expect our night to turn into this either. We had completely different plans and I overtook that but he did this for me. He knows my love, for all animals, but the soft spot I have for cats so he was really great ♡. Through our plans, his allergies, and driving all over the place for me, for the kitten, he was so supportive and so understanding. Thanks, babe!

When we got to Long Beach in the area of the shelter, we were so confused. We were unsure where exactly it was located but it worked out because we got to enjoy our last moments with Baldwin. I truly do wish that we could’ve kept her (it was confirmed SHE was a girl) but my mom kept reminding me that she was going to get fed properly, get healed back to proper health, and go to a family that can really take care of her and enjoy her. That did make me feel better about not being able to have her as our own. Any day that I can save an animal is a day well spent. Keith and I have been in this situation many times when we have pulled over to help a lost animal, and we will continue to do so. 🙂

If anyone is interested in helping out in a small but BIG way, click HERE to check out the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and maybe even make a donation!

I know some of you may think that the way I sound is so silly… I know it is not my cat, I only knew her for a few hours but I am an animal LOVER. I can’t explain to you how much of a connection to animals I have, and I feel that most people understand but if not sorry… not sorry that I sound “weird” but sorry that you don’t have the same passion for them as I, and many others do.

See ya,
Samm 🙂